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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Davidson in Taipei

Total recall? Campaigners employ quirk of Taiwan’s political system to turn on ‘pro-China’ candidates

Lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) try to break into parliament after the Democratic Progressive party (DPP) occupied it.
Lawmakers from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) try to break into parliament after the Democratic Progressive party (DPP) occupied it. Photograph: I-Hwa Cheng/AFP/Getty Images

On a steamy night deep in one of Taipei’s most conservative suburbs, a group of elderly neighbours are yelling at each other next to a garbage truck. They have just been handed a leaflet by a university student calling on them to recall – expel – their sitting legislator.

There are hundreds of these campaigners across Taiwan, targeting members of the Kuomintang (KMT) opposition who they accuse of being too pro-China. But this neighbourhood is deeply loyal to the party, and the campaigners are not welcome.

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